Policy and Advocacy

I know people who can hear an idea and immediately jump into action. In fact, I work for one and I'm married to another one. Despite the fact that it often drives them crazy, I'm not one of those people. For me there is a middle "thinking" stage - which can last as long as, well, years sometimes.  So a lot of the changes percolating for me since Advocacy Camp have to do with changes in thinking (although I have also taken some actions that I'll get to in another post).

Bouncing around in my head lately is this question: What is the nature of the connection between policy and advocacy? After Advocacy Camp I have a much better sense of what advocacy is and how to do it. But doesn’t effective advocacy presuppose some understanding of policy, or at least of how policy gets made? About policy, a web dictionary gives us: “A plan or course of action, as of a government, political party, or business, intended to influence and determine decisions, actions, and other matters.” It also says, “Prudence, shrewdness, or sagacity in practical matters.” Hm. Does this mean that policy by definition is effective or smart? I wonder.

Roget’s web thesaurus suggests that other words for policy include: action, administration, approach, arrangement, behavior, channels, code, course, custom, design, guideline, line, management, method, order, organization, plan, polity, practice, procedure, program, protocol, red tape, rule, scheme, stratagem, strategy, tenet, the book, the numbers, theory. Is it like pornography – we’re not sure how to define it but we know it when we see it?

 

My friend and colleague Susan says that we don’t advocate to change policy. We advocate for money. I would say that at my organization, advocacy is not enough. We want to be at the table when child care policy is made.  Of course, that's also the best place to be when they're giving out the money.

What do you think? Are policy and advocacy connected, independent, or is there another way to describe it?

Comments

[Jon Gould]

First, congrats to you, Laura for blogging! Bravo. You inspired me....this is my first time responding to a blog!

RE: your question, I think policy and advocacy are more than just "connected", they rely on each other for their very existence. Without advocacy, in whatever form, there would not be any policy. Advocacy, as Nancy Amidei says, is just speaking up. Everyone does it, every day.

For me, policy is anything that stays in place after the advocate is no longer there. So, it could be a law, rule, decision, you name it. I think of policy as separate from a specific service, which depends on someone being there to provide it.

This gets me to the question of what we advocate for. I think each individual has to answer this for herself. At the Children's Alliance, I can say that we advocate for policy, which includes $ for services and programs.

I'd love to hear other thoughts on this.

Jon

[Jade Anthony]

Laura- I think you thesaurus entry makes a wonderful point about how each of us can contribute to policy change in our own way. Some people are comfortable acting and speaking up more publicly, while others prefer and excel at working behind the scenes. Each of these roles are equally important. As an Advocacy Camper I learned to hone both of those skills, as well as when and HOW to get other, perhaps more experienced, people involved.